Under a decision issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) this month, saving interest rates for short-term loans of up to six months were cut by 0.25-0.30 percentage points to 0.5 per cent and 4.75 per cent per annum.

At large-cap banks such as Vietcombank, Military Bank, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), and Techcombank, saving interest rates for those terms range from 3.9 per cent to 6.0 per cent.

For some listed companies, investors may have higher yields if they buy in at low prices as the dividend-to-share price ratios beat banks’ saving rates.

Becamex Infrastructure Development JSC (HoSE: IJC) in 2019 earned a total of nearly VNĐ1.6 trillion (US$68.2 million) in revenue and VNĐ284.4 billion in profit, beating its full-year targets by 65 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.

The figures were up 28 per cent and 22 per cent year on year. In 2017-18, the company paid a cash dividend of 10-12 per cent.

The dividend payout rate set for 2019 is expected to be a minimum of 12 per cent.

The company's shares slipped 2.7 per cent to end Thursday at VNĐ9,100 apiece. That closing price means the dividend payout could offer a yield rate of 13.1 per cent.

Đà Nẵng Housing Investment Development JSC (HNX: NDN) is a different case. The company reported sharp drops in both total revenue and post-tax profit in 2019.